{"id":1036442,"date":"2026-09-01T06:24:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T06:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1036442\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T06:24:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T06:24:34","slug":"map-shows-states-where-its-hardest-to-survive-on-120000-per-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1036442\/","title":{"rendered":"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"0\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">A six-figure salary was once considered the hallmark of financial security in the United <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/topic\/states\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">States<\/a>. However, new data shows that milestone is increasingly falling short in high-cost states.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"1\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">A report published last week by financial technology company SmartAsset found that a $120,000 annual income no longer guarantees comfort nationwide. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/topic\/hawaii\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Hawaii<\/a> leads the nation as the state where that salary stretches the least, requiring a single adult to earn $129,000 to live comfortably. And for a family of four living in the Aloha State, that number rises to $313,165.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"2\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">The findings highlight a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/americas-middle-class-turns-on-trump-amid-affordability-crisis-11049058\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">persistent affordability crisis<\/a> affecting singles and families alike. While <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/topic\/inflation\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">inflation<\/a> has cooled significantly from its pandemic-era peak, cumulative price increases for housing, food, and other essentials have left many feeling squeezed despite rising wages.<\/p>\n<p>Read More on U.S.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"4\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">\u201cA 6-figure salary used to be shorthand for \u2018you\u2019ve made it,\u2019\u201d Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek. \u201cIn some parts of America, $120k now buys something much closer to financial breathing room than financial freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>High Cost of Living Spreads<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"7\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">Affordability has emerged as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/trump-approval-rating-as-consumer-confidence-drops-70-days-before-midterm-12365674\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">central economic concern ahead of this year&#8217;s midterm elections<\/a>. Although many households earn more today than they did several years ago, soaring living costs have outpaced wage gains for millions of workers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"8\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">According to SmartAsset, nearly half of all states now require a salary of more than $100,000 for a single adult to achieve a comfortable lifestyle. Researchers in the report defined that standard using the 50\/30\/20 budgeting rule, which allocates 50 percent of income to necessities, 30 percent to discretionary spending, and 20 percent to savings and debt reduction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"9\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">The four states requiring a single adult to earn more than $120,000 annually are:<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"11\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest income thresholds are: <\/p>\n<ul class=\"List-module-scss-module__0ldMPG__wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"ListItem-module-scss-module__LHXi7q__wp-block-list-item\"><strong>New Jersey<\/strong> ($113,776) <\/li>\n<li class=\"ListItem-module-scss-module__LHXi7q__wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Washington <\/strong>($110,614) <\/li>\n<li class=\"ListItem-module-scss-module__LHXi7q__wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Oregon <\/strong>($110,074)<\/li>\n<li class=\"ListItem-module-scss-module__LHXi7q__wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Connecticut <\/strong>($108,368)<\/li>\n<li class=\"ListItem-module-scss-module__LHXi7q__wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Colorado <\/strong>($108,160)<\/li>\n<li class=\"ListItem-module-scss-module__LHXi7q__wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Maryland <\/strong>($107,910)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>How Affordability Has Gotten Worse<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"15\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">The current squeeze stems largely from price spikes that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and surged through the inflation wave of 2021 to 2023. Although annual inflation rates have moderated, which as of July is at 3.4 percent, overall price levels have not declined.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"16\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">Housing remains the primary driver of financial strain. Home prices soared during the pandemic housing boom, and mortgage rates climbed sharply as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to combat inflation. Renters face similar pressures across major metropolitan areas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"17\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">\u201cCost of living varies dramatically between states. High housing prices, state and local taxes, energy costs, and transportation costs are all very localized,\u201d Drew Powers, the founder of Illinois-based Powers Financial Group, told Newsweek. \u201cWhile \u20186-figures\u2019 was always a benchmark for a healthy income, recent inflation and price instability has made that rule of thumb obsolete.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"18\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">Meanwhile, consumers continue to pay more for goods and services than they did before the pandemic. Food, insurance, healthcare and even utility costs have all risen significantly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"19\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">\u201cHousing is a huge part of that story, but so are food, transportation, healthcare, taxes and the ability to actually save rather than simply cover this month\u2019s bills,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n<p>Looking Ahead<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"22\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">Economists expect affordability to remain a dominant issue. As the cost of living recalibrates the American dream, financial experts warn that traditional milestones are moving further out of reach for middle-class earners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"23\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\">\u201cPeople can earn what looks like a very good salary and still postpone buying a home, having children or building meaningful retirement savings,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cWhen six figures stops buying security, the definition of \u2018doing well\u2019 starts moving with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"24\" articletitle=\"Map Shows States Where It\u2019s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year\" id=\"artend_links\">Contact Newsweek editors for this story: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/mailto:j.lemon@newsweek.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jason Lemon<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/mailto:a.murray@newsweek.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Anthony Murray<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A six-figure salary was once considered the hallmark of financial security in the United States. However, new data&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1036443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[12],"tags":[64,276,79,26621,266,2739,6459,405,255,14982,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1036442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-california","tag-economy","tag-hawaii","tag-inflation","tag-massachusetts","tag-money","tag-new-york","tag-personal-finance","tag-states","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117194356565688157","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1036442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1036442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1036443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1036442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1036442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}